Picture is bleak for watching live tilts

NFL and its teams are TV challenged

As the Chargers Tuesday announced their second TV blackout of the season, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted such local blackouts will be a challenge this season for the league.

“It's all part of the challenges that we're seeing in the economy, and what our clubs are going through,” Goodell said on a visit to the Washington Redskins. “Our clubs have been working hard in the offseason to create other ways to try to get people in the stadiums and to have policies that are a little more flexible, and hopefully they're going to pay dividends for us.”

One thing that will not change, though, is the NFL rule that requires a game to be sold out 72 hours in advance in order for a local telecast to occur.

Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports, one of the league's TV partners, said Tuesday he expected the league to make at least a minor change in its blackout rules, perhaps helping one team fill a stadium for one week during the season by donating a certain number of tickets to charity. But asked about Goren's comments, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said via email, “There is no discussion concerning changing the blackout policy.”

That's bad news for Chargers fans, who were unable to watch their team's first exhibition game last month on live TV and will face the same situation for Friday's exhibition finale against San Francisco. The team said about 7,000 tickets remain for that game.

Four weeks ago, Chief Operating Officer Jim Steeg said “thousands of tickets” were unsold for each home game. Tuesday, club spokesman Bill Johnston said there are still “a significant number of tickets available to all of our remaining games. We have sold the most tickets to the Philadelphia game (Nov. 15), but it is not close to selling out.”

The Chargers aren't alone in struggling to sell tickets in the midst of a weak economy that has resulted in double-digit unemployment rates in several states, including California. On Monday, Sports Business Journal said league owners recently were told there are “10 to 12 teams” that may not sell out every game.

Fewer than 5 percent of all NFL regular-season games have been blacked out over the past four seasons, with just nine of 256 games not aired locally last season. But there is little doubt that number will rise this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars already have said they do not expect any of their eight games to be televised locally.

“We anticipate ticket sales will be down low single digits this year,” McCarthy said. “We are sensitive to what our fans and business partners are enduring in these tough economic times. Three-quarters of the clubs froze ticket prices this season and have created more flexibility and options for fans to help them afford tickets.”

But there is little flexibility when it comes to blackouts, except that the NFL will continue allowing teams to request extensions to sell more tickets in the timespan from 24 to 72 hours before kickoff.